How to Use an Entire Pumpkin: Seeds to Skin!

I didn’t necessarily start out seeking to make use of an entire pumpkin from seeds to skin, but the idea kicked in somewhere after starting to make Liv some baby food

and midway through consuming a voluptuous glass of Malbec and a lot of gluten-free crackers. 🙂

And then this happened!

The Pilot was flying Monday night, and usually when he flies late, after Liv’s asleep I’ll either call up girlfriends to come over, catch up on blog stuff and/or enjoy a date with the DVR. The other night, I decided to roast a pumpkin. Why not, eh?

Everyone in this house loves pumpkin.

(Especially Bell)

The steps I followed are all in this post, but I wanted to share some recipes using each part of the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Seed Recipes

How to Use Pumpkin Skin

As I was peeling the skin away from the pumpkin, I felt wasteful just thinking about throwing it away. In Angela’s post, she suggests using it for compost, but alas, my Arizona cacti garden doesn’t seem to need it. I remembered my chef uncle telling me that in fancy schmancy restaurants, they dehydrate fish skin and use it as a garnish for soup.

So, I tore the pumpkin skin into chip-size pieces, threw it in the dehydrator, and the results were amazing:

-Pumpkin chips: Sprinkle liberally with paprika, sea salt and chili powder, then dehydrate overnight at 115*. Don’t have a dehydrator? No worries, just bake in the oven on a cookie sheet at the lowest setting with the door slightly ajar.

So there ya go! An entire pumpkin.. and lots of treats to enjoy this week.

Dang, I like pumpkin, but you just took it to another level! Did you use a sugar pumpkin? I ask because I know that roasting a typical large “carving” pumpkin doesn’t give the best-tasting purée.

In a high school cooking class we carved a pumpkin then roasted it for pumpkin pie, which tasted awful. I’ve since been told that for pie (and I assume any other edible pumpkin purée) you have to use a smaller sugar pumpkin for the best results.

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That’s such a creative idea to use the entire pumpkin! I’m going to try those dried skins. I actually love the skins of stuff. And dried fish skin actually sounds really good. Kabocha skins are great too.

You can also make beer with it. I brew my own beer, my father and I brewed a spiced pumpkin ale a couple of weeks ago. We’re going to bottle it on friday. I’d be more than happy to share the recipe we used. cheers 🙂

So me and baby boy just got back from picking up some produce including a pumpkin!

I told my hubby about this post and that I was planning on making some baby food and chips out of the pumpkin. He thought that was pretty cool. Then I had a thought to do the same thing with butternut squash (which I also bought) and that’s when he said,”Gina doesn’t know that she’s created a monster.” 🙂

Incredible! I had no idea you could eat the skin! Thank you for sharing I always hated throwing away the skin as it made me feel wasteful. I love your posts with little Liv so darling! When my husband is away on business I do the same I just get creative in the kitchen and have girlfriends over to eat it all 🙂 Love and Shine CourtStar

Awesome post! I loveee pumpkin anything, especially in the fall 🙂 Growing up we always used to roast the seeds after we carved the pumpkin [for decoration] but I’ve never actually roasted a pumpkin or made my own puree… I totally wanna try!

You went all out!! Though I’m a personal trainer, I usually don’t get overly creative with my meals. Last month, I tasked myself with coming up with interesting ways to use seasonal foods. This post is exactly what I needed to see! Chili lime pumpkin seeds on deck. My wife will be very proud!

You are ambitious!! That looks like a lot of fun, but a lot of work too. I love pumpkin everything, and I never thought of actually using the skin. What a great idea! I feel like this would be fun thing to do with a group of girl friends, thanks for the idea 🙂

I read through all of your posts and didn’t find my answer..if I don’t have a dehydrator, how long do I keep the pumpkin chips in the oven (with the door ajar) and at what temp?
Thank you! Love your ides…my whole family loves pumpkin ANYTHING!

I tried your pumpkin hummus and i was rather pleased with the outcome i did not expect it to taste as good as it was and i was able to use my left over pumpkin puree on something that was unique and delicious!
Thanks for the recipe :]

I have a friend that just baked me a pumpkin pie made from a real pumpkin. It was delicious; however, she did not remove the skin. She put the whole pumpkin (after she cooked it) into her blender and used the skin in the pie. Is this okay? Will the skin hurt me? It didn’t blend in well and you could see the small pieces in the pie. Maybe others have done this, too. Please reply.

Hi, gorgeous! I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to The Fitnessista, a healthy lifestyle blog emphasizing quick workouts, quick recipes and adventures as a wife and mom. Though I am a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor and weight loss specialist, the information posted here is not intended to substitute the advice of a medical professional. Please check out the about page for more info. Thank you for reading! ❤️